1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bench top grill assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bench top grill assembly providing improved safety and convenience features in a compact shape.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional grilling, heating and warming apparatus provide substantial detriments and operator safety risks, as noted below.
One type of conventional warming apparatus employs a solid/semi-solid fuel canister in a wire frame under a pan to be heated. This design allows flames and thermal energy issuing from a lit fuel canister to rise under pan and warm the contents. This design is inexpensive to manufacture but is unstable with heavy pans. This design also allows cross winds to affect the fuel canister and redirect the thermal energy in a direction other than toward the pan, risking fire hazards, heating of the wire frame, and damage to surrounding objects.
This wire frame design also makes it difficult to access the hot fuel canister for changing and replacement. As the fuel canister is retained under the pan, the safest access would be to remove the pan causing additional inconvenience and risk of spilling. If the fuel canister is accessed from the side, a special tool is required to grip the hot canister body and lift it from its retaining wire cradle, risking spilling of the now liquid fuel mixture and fire.
Alternative conventional embodiments have expanded on the above common themes by adding multiple fuel canister, replacing the wire frame with differently shaped wire frames, designs incorporating stamped and folded metal, and a multitude of collapsible designs for camping and recreation. Some of these conventional designs provide a grilling rack suspended over the fuel canister to support a pan or other item to be heated.
Unfortunately, each of these conventional designs retains in many of the detriments noted above. Particularly, each of these conventional designs allows multiple side access to the fuel container, usually require direct contact with the fuel container during replacement or transport, fail to limit access to a single side of the design, and do not allow both direct grilling without a grilling rack and an easily replaceable grill rack.
Conventional designs also fail to provide for user convenience in many ways. Since grilling operations often involve the use of forks or skewers it would be convenient for conventional designs to provide easy storage for these utensils. Additionally, since conventional grilling operations often include condiments such as vegetables, meats, fruits, marshmallows, etc, it would be convenient for conventional designs to provide easy storage for these condiments. Unfortunately, none of the conventional grill designs incorporate the ability to securely store utensils and condiments while addressing each of the detriments noted above.
In summary, the problems of commercially available grill assemblies, include:
1. Instability in set-up, operation, and transport for both a grill mechanism and the solid/semi-solid (or liquid in use) fuel elements.
2. Safety hazards through easy access to heating elements, air currents affecting heating elements, inappropriate structural heating, difficulty in removing or replacing heating elements, and inability to direct the flame issuing from the heating element during use.
3. Inconvenience in transportability, operation on a working surface, storage for utensils and condiments in a safe, secure and transportable manner, and access to the heating element for removal or replacement without additional tools such as pliers.
An object of the present invention is to provide an invention that overcomes the detriments of conventional grills as discussed above.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bench top grill assembly that allows heating or cooking over an open flame or over a removable grate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bench top grill assembly that uses a solid/semi-solid disposable fuel element in an easily replaceable and disposable manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bench top grill assembly that includes a lateral (side) opening for easy insertion/removal of a solid/semi-solid disposable fuel element.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bench top grill assembly with a rigid grill body that may be used without a grill top.
Another object of the present assembly is to provide a bench top grill assembly including a receptacle for the solid/semi-solid fuel elements with a handle extending beyond a lateral opening so that the handle does not become heated and may be safely gripped outside the unit.
The present invention provides a bench top grill assembly that includes a rigid continuous grill body, a grill grate removably covering an upper opening, and a fuel element receptacle or container removably positionable in the grill body through a lateral opening dimensioned to closely receive the container. A safety handle projects from the fuel element container through the lateral opening away from sides of the grill body so that the handle does not become heated during use and may be safely gripped. A support table with multiple dimensions, forks, and condiment dishes increase the convenience of the bench top grill assembly.
According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, comprising: a grill body, the grill body being a rigid continuous body substantially bounding an inner volume and defining a top opening opposite an inner bottom surface, one side of the grill body having a single side opening arrayed along a plane positioned substantially perpendicular to the top opening and the inner bottom surface, a grill grate, the grill grate providing a divided access to an inside of the grill housing, a grill grate removably positionable on the top opening and separable from the grill body during a use, whereby the top opening and the grill grate enable grilling over at least one of an open flame and a grated flame, a removable fuel container, the side opening having a shape allowing the removable fuel container to be inserted and withdrawn from the bounded inner volume during the use, and the fuel container operably capable of containing an external fuel element while allowing a flame to escape through a flame opening proximate the top opening when the fuel container is inserted into the bounded inner volume.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, further comprising: a handle extending from the fuel container, the handle being substantially parallel to a bottom of the fuel container, and the handle projecting through the side opening away from the grill body during the use, whereby the handle does not become heated and is easily grasped to facilitate a safe removal of the fuel container from the grill body during or after a use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, wherein: the grill body is formed as at least one of a frusto-conical shape, a pot-bellied shape, and a pseudo-frustum shape, each the shape effective to bound the inner volume, define the single side opening, and receive the fuel container during the use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, further comprising: at least one receiving receptacle on the inner bottom surface of the grill body, at least one bottom guide bounding a portion of the receiving receptacle on the inner bottom surface, and a bottom of the fuel container slidably retained in the receiving receptacle by the at least one bottom guide during the use, whereby the fuel container is restrained from unintended lateral movement relative to the grill body and the single side opening during the use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, further comprising: a support table, a grill body depression on the support table, the grill body slidably retained within the grill body depression and prevented from sliding laterally relative to the support table during the use, whereby the support table provides increased stability to the grill body, and the support table spacing the grill body from an external work surface, whereby the support table eliminates detrimental thermal transfer from the fuel container to the work surface to increase safety.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, wherein: the support table is at least one of a rotatable support table and a fixed support table, the rotatable support table enabling a rotation of the support table and the grill body relative to the work surface, whereby a user convenience is increased, and the fixed support table is fixed relative to the grill body and the work surface, where the user is provided with an increased stability during the use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, further comprising: a least one grove on a top surface of the support table, the at least one groove shaped to receive at least one grill fork and prevent the fork from sliding relative to the top surface during a use, whereby a convenience of the bench top grill assembly is increased.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, further comprising: at least one condiment depression on the support table, and the at least one condiment depression shaped to receive at least one condiment container and prevent a lateral movement of the container relative to the support table during the use, whereby a convenience and a safety of the bench top grill is increased.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, further comprising: at least one disposable fuel element, the fuel element positionable within the removable fuel container prior to the use and removable from the fuel container after the use, whereby the bench top grill assembly is easily transported and shipped without the combustible fuel element and easily combined with the fuel element prior to the use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, wherein: the fuel container has a first total width dimension and a first total height dimension, the side opening having a second total width dimension and a second total height dimension, and the respective first dimensions being less than the respective the second dimensions, whereby the removable fuel container may be easily inserted and withdrawn from the grill body during the use without disturbing the grill body and being protected from unintended contact from directions other than those facing the side opening.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, comprising: a grill body, the grill body being a rigid continuous body substantially bounding an inner volume and defining a top opening opposite an inner bottom surface, one side of the grill body having a single side opening arrayed along a plane positioned substantially perpendicular to the top opening and the inner bottom surface, a grill grate, the grill grate providing a divided access to an inside of the grill housing, a grill grate removably positionable on the top opening and separable from the grill body during a use, whereby the top opening and the grill grate enable grilling over at least one of an open flame and a grated flame, a removable fuel container, the side opening having a shape allowing the removable fuel container to be inserted and withdrawn from the bounded inner volume during the use, the fuel container operably capable of containing an external fuel element while allowing a flame to escape through a flame opening proximate the top opening when the fuel container is inserted in the bounded inner volume, a handle extending from the fuel container, the handle being substantially parallel to a bottom of the fuel container, and the handle projecting through the side opening away from the grill body during the use, whereby the handle does not become heated and is easily grasped and facilitates a safe removal of the fuel container from the grill body after a use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bench top grill assembly, wherein: the grill body is formed as at least one of a frusto-conical shape, a pot-bellied shape, and a pseudo-frustum shape, each the shape effective to bound the inner volume and receive the fuel container and support the grill grate during the use.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a bench top grill assembly, in combination with: a support table, said support table supporting said grill body on an external work surface; at least one recess for retaining at least one eating utensil on said support table; said recess retaining said utensil during said use; at least one recess for condiments on said support table; and said recess for condiments retaining condiments during said use, whereby said bench top grill assembly is easily useable with both said utensils and said condiments.